As skin ages it loses its attractive youthful appearance. Aging may be simple chronological passing of the years or photoaging induced by exposure to the sun. Wind, rain or other environmental stresses can cause or aggravate declines due to aging. With aging smooth, firm, clear, attractively colored skin can develop wrinkles, fine lines, flaccid texture, acne lesions, puffiness and poor color. These negative effects tend to congregate around the eyes and are particularly noticeable in the eye area, which is the focal point of a person's appearance.
Many people, especially women, wish to ward off the visual effects of aging, if only superficially. This desire has spawned the use of the cosmetics to modify the appearance of the skin since ancient times, and has led to the creation of a vast industry in modern times. Most cosmetics, for example foundation, blusher, eye shadow and lipstick, provide an opaque film which is overlaid on the skin to display the film's own visual characteristics or to enhance those of the underlying skin. However the benefits of opaque, masking or film-forming cosmetics are transitory and limited or artificial in effect. Accordingly, there is a need for skin treatments that provide more durable, natural and substantial effects.
Some cosmetic treatments actually induce biological changes in the skin. Perhaps if they were used sufficiently diligently, ancient treatments employing yogurt, fruit acids or vinegar may have ben effective to induce such changes because these natural sources contain simple alpha hydroxy acids which are now known to be quite effective in inducing structural changes in the skin and are widely incorporated in commercial cosmetic and therapeutic treatments and treatment compositions.
Also, many people shun the achievements of modern science and cosmetology and prefer herbal treatments perceiving them to be more natural and more desirable. A number of successful present-day beauty treatments and lines of cosmetics are promoted for their plant-origin ingredients, although often such products contain little in the way of active ingredients obtained from plants. In many cases, the supposed activity of the plant-origin ingredients is unsubstantiated. However there are efficacious herbs with useful properties for cosmetic applications.
There is a rich lode of knowledge of herbal treatments, much compiled also in ancient times, by the Chinese, Indians, Africans, American Indians and indeed probably most ancient cultures, and most people, even scientists, recognize that at least some herbal remedies have genuine therapeutic value. Nowadays modern drug companies are focusing increased resources on research into therapeutic agents derived from plant sources, as more traditional synthetic organic chemistry research provides diminishing returns. In medicine a famous, effective drug derived from plant sources is the anti-malarial agent quinine. More modern successful plant-derived drugs include the cardiac drug digitalis, which is isolated from the foxglove plant and the anti-cancer agents visblastine and vincristine, both isolated from periwinkle. Current research efforts are finding interesting potential anti-cancer properties to be exhibited by tasol an experimental drug isolated from the Pacific yew and certain polyphenols isolated from Chinese green tea.
The efficacy of a number of herbal remedies has been demonstrated in clinical trails or animals studies. For example, chamomile has been shown to be effective against inflammation and spasms in the digestive tract. Echinacea has a mild stimulatory effect on the immune system. Feverfew can apparently relieve migraine pain and is used to prevent migraine and for arthritic, menstrual irregularities, stomach ache and fever. Clinical studies also support an ability of garlic to lower cholesterol. Laboratory finding suggest ginger and peppermint can help stave off or fight colds, and there is some evidence to back claims for the digestive properties of peppermint. Gingko is apparently effective for brain-related mild disorders such as short-term memory loss, headache and depression as well as tinnitus. Goldenseal is widely used in a tea for eye inflammations and for respiratory conditions and has been shown in animal studies to be effective against a number of microorganisms, but may have some mild toxicity.
Milk thistle has been shown effective in treating liver conditions and is so approved in Germany. Valerian is also approved in Germany as a mild tranquilizer for restlessness and sleep disturbances. Willow bark is traditionally used in a tea for headache, fever, muscle pain and arthritis and the presence of salicylates in willow bark is consistent with such used, but the concentration of active ingredients may be too low for it to be an effective medication. Much of this data is reported in "Health" magazine May/June 1995, pages 86-92.
Some herbs, or plant-derived biological materials, have bene used to treat the skin, and may, or may not improve its appearance. For example, aloe and Malvaceae extract (Hibiscus lipids) have been used as moisturizers; licorice (.beta.-glyceritinate) and rosemary as anti-irritants; and extracts of queen-of-the-meadow and willow bark have been promoted as having anti-aging properties believed attributable to their content of salicylic acid.
Other plants are known whose extracts may have useful topical anti-aging properties. For example, Centella asiatica contains asiatic acid which is believed to stimulate collagen synthesis and heather extracts are used as inhibitors of elastic breakdown.
Many of these herbal treatments are popular and commercialized in European and other countries outside the United States where drug regulatory bodies are generally more receptive to drugs derived from natural products than they are in the U.S.A.
Some herbal technology has reached the patent literature, for example at least 50 U.S. patents reference garlic in their abstracts or titles, and at least four reference chamomile.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,948 to Cerise et al. discloses a manufacturing method for producing a powdered concentrated extract of valerian. U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,503 discloses an herbal dietary supplement comprising a solution of at least two herbal ingredients selected from a wide-ranging list which is allegedly holistically effective for treatment of multiple complaints especially oral complaints such as cold sores and oral boils, pimples and acne, employing a treatment medium in a variety of forms including a cream. To the extent that it applies to the application of a cream to pimples or acne, patent '502 apparently discloses a topically applied herbal treatment. However, patent '503 teaches nothing about improving the appearance of unadorned aged skin.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,677 to Toiminaga et al. discloses an herbal gel composition containing inter alia fennel extract intended to be applied to the skin to increase lipase activity and thus accelerate lipid metabolism. The purpose of the treatment is apparently to reduce excess or undesired subcutaneous fat. Again, although patent '677 discloses a topically applied herbal treatment, there is no teaching regarding improving the appearance of aged skin nor does it suggest any treatment for reducing wrinkles.
Bonne et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,573 discloses a cosmetic composition for topical application containing an extract of the fruits of Silybum marianum, common name "milk thistle". The treatments disclosed are reported to be effective in opposing aging of the skin. More specifically, they apparently protect against free radical damage in animal and in vitro studies. Thus the
Bonne's treatments are prophylactic not proactive. Bonne does not teach any treatment that will improve the appearance of skin that has already aged: Bonne's objective is to prevent photoaging occurring.
None of these patents teaches a herbal treatment that significantly reduces the signs of aging of the skin or that is effective in treating wrinkles, especially deep wrinkles. As used herein, the term "deep wrinkles" (or "deeply wrinkled") refers to wrinkles with a depth of at least 1 mm, that involve, or are controlled or influenced by the musculature, and distinguishes from fine, superficial wrinkles that can be relatively easily removed or concealed.
Though not regarded as herbal ingredients, alpha hydroxy acids are known to be effective in stimulating skin renewal thereby improving the appearance of aged skin, and of wrinkles in the aged skin even although the wrinkles may still be present. Yu and Van Scott in U.S. Pat. No. 5,422,370 claim a method of reducing wrinkles by topical application of latic acid to the wrinkle. Alpha hydroxy acids are believed to work via epidermal stimulation and, accordingly only small or superficial wrinkles are susceptible to reduction by alpha hydroxy acids. Deep, muscle-controlled wrinkles are non-superficial and although they may be less noticeable because their skin surface is smoother.
To solve this problem, some plastic surgeons are known to have injected botulism toxin into facial muscles to improve the look of the skin immediately. The botulism toxin paralyses the muscle receiving it and in doing so the deep wrinkles controlled by the muscle become relaxed. There are obvious drawbacks to this procedure. It does not produce long-term effects, employs toxins, and cannot be performed regularly.
Psychologists report, anecdotally, that the side of the face controlled by the harder working side of the brain becomes wrinkled the more readily. Such reports are consistent with long-held anecdotal associations of wrinkles with anxiety. Though interesting, this knowledge does not suggest an effective treatment for deep wrinkles that can be commercialized.
Many or most of the known skin treatments are topical in nature, requiring to be spread on, or rubbed into, all areas of the skin to be treated. Topical applications of creams, gels or lotions may be acceptable, or agreeable, for many users, but others may find them tiresome or disagreeable, especially if many areas of the body are to be treated repeatedly. A herbal deep wrinkle treatment which also solved the problem of repeated topical application would be particularly desirable.